Live Update: ECB could fund Women’s Test in West Indies Chair Richard Thompson says match is key to England’s preparations for Women’s Ashes The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 The smile of a champion – Mohammed Siraj picked up five wickets in a ten-ball period, India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup final, Colombo, September 17, 2023 Alyssa Healy poses with the trophy after Australia retained the Ashes, England vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Women’s Ashes, Taunton, July 18, 2023 The standards by which Harmanpreet Kaur was eventually judged was reflective of what she had helped create as ctain Harmanpreet Kaur walks off the field after India’s big win against Netherlands, India Women vs Netherlands Women, T20 World Cup 2026, Leeds, June 17, 2026 Mandhana, who has been part of the side since 2013, has previously led India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs Smriti Mandhana looks on in the field, India vs South Africa, Women’s World Cup final, Navi Mumbai, November 2, 2025 Ind vs Zim – Niki Prasad, Jintimani Kalita and Nandani Sharma the new faces in Smriti Mandhana-led white-ball sides Shafali Verma has been elevated to the vice-ctaincy of the T20I side, while Dee Sharma will do the job in the ODI side for the games against Zimbabwe India U-19 ctain Niki Prasad is all smiles, India vs South Africa, Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup warm-ups, Malaysia, January 15, 2025 Harmanpreet Kaur ctained India to back-to-back Asian Games gold medal, India vs Sri Lanka, Asian Games women’s competition final, Nisshin, September 22, 2026 Everyone thought he was a late-order hitter and an occasional bowler.
West Indies – and India too – found out in the first T20I that Naman Dhir is a match-winning offspinner too Naman Dhir picked up two key wickets on debut, India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, Lucknow, October 6, 2026 Shreyas Iyer hammered a 42-ball century to help India over the line, India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, Lucknow, October 6, 2026 Tanmay Baloda picked up eight wickets in the second Australia Under-19 innings to set up a target of just 11, which India Under-19 knocked off in just five balls India Under-19 star Lakshya Raichandani has scored prolifically over the past year, moving from one format to the other without a pause, seemingly without any problems Lakshya Raichandani tonned up in the second innings, Sri Lanka Under-19 vs India Under-19, 2nd Youth Test, 3rd day, Colombo, July 22, 2026 Rajat Patidar scored a valiant fifty in India A’s chase of 275 but they slid to a 125-run defeat in the first unofficial ODI Nathan McSweeney hits through the off side, India A vs Australia A, 1st one-dayer, Puducherry, October 6, 2026 Priyansh Arya is in India A’s squad to face the visiting Australia A side for three one-dayers, and trusts his high-risk-high-reward game to give him the results Priyansh Arya plays down the ground, Sri Lanka A vs India A, 1st match, One-day tri-series, Dambulla, June 9, 2026 Scott will feature in the one-day series against India A after his exploits in the Big Bash League and recent unofficial Test series in Puducherry After years of setbacks and self-imposed pressure, a new outlook has given Renshaw the balance to embrace an unexpected three-format international comeback For the players coming into the Australia side after Sandpergate, it was bittersweet, but also a dream come true The Australian team during the national anthems, South Africa v Australia, 4th Test, Johannesburg, 1st day, March 30, 2018 Cameron Green reacts after copping a blow while batting, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Potchefstroom, September 30, 2026 The ghosts of Sandpergate still hang over the rivals as Australia make it back to the country for the first Test tour since 2018 Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins, the two ctains, wait to walk out with their players, Australia vs South Africa, World Test Championship final, Lord’s, June 11, 2025 Varun Chakravarthy is also back for India after missing the Asian Games, while Ravi Bishnoi has been left out Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran through Mumbai Indians’ top order, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians, IPL, Raipur, May 10, 2026 Dhruv Jurel has been named the ctain of the side, while Rishabh Pant has been picked but his participation will be subject to fitness Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul had a job to do after being in the field for close to two days, India vs South Africa, 2nd Test, Guwahati, 2nd day, November 23, 2025 Rishabh Pant is back at Delhi Citals from Lucknow Super Giants, and Yuvraj Singh is expected to join the franchise as batting coach Tanmay Baloda picked up eight wickets in the second Australia Under-19 innings to set up a target of just 11, which India Under-19 knocked off in just five balls England ctain Nat Sciver-Brunt and West Indies ctain Hayley Matthews meet at the coin toss, 1st Women’s Vitality T20I, England vs West Indies, Canterbury, May 21, 2025 The ECB could be prepared to step in and fund next year’s scheduled Women’s Test in the Caribbean to safeguard their Ashes preparations, in the wake of recent cost-cutting measures from Cricket West Indies. Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, told reporters at Lord’s that the board was willing to “look at” the funding implications for their multi-format series in ril and May, which also features three T20Is and three ODIs, and will form a key part of England’s preparations as they seek to win the Women’s Ashes for the first time since 2013-14. Speaking at the launch of a new ECB initiative to take cricket to more than 1,700 state secondary schools and more than 3,500 teachers, Thompson stressed the importance of the tour to England’s hopes of challenging Australia in this summer’s Ashes, especially in the curtain-raising Test at Headingley in June.
Citing last year’s one-off men’s Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, for which the ECB paid the visitors a tour fee, Thompson indicated that a similar arrangement could again be on the cards. “We will definitely look at it,” Thompson said. “Look what we did with Zimbabwe two years ago.
Look, it will be awful for the West Indies. We want that Test match to play out. It’s very important for us because our first women’s match in the Ashes is the Headingley Test match.
So we need a good red-ball warm-up. We’ve got to be playing somewhere, and I think we’d much prefer to be playing in the West Indies.” According to Dehring, some of CWI’s current financial pressures stem from the terms of a US$16 million loan that the board took out from the ICC in July. The money will be made available to the board in three tranches, starting from this month, but according to the CEO, the repayment terms will require the board to attain “critical metrics”.
“We might have that conversation as and when,” Thompson added. “We all have a huge sympathy with the West Indies. We really want to see a successful West Indian nation.
They have very unique challenges, and I hope through ICC and others we can find a way through.” Richard Thompson, ECB chairman, watches the Test in Rawalpindi, Pakistan vs England, 1st Test, Rawalpindi, 3rd day, December 3, 2022 The challenges faced by West Indies echo the concerns that were felt across the men’s game during England’s home summer in 2026, in particular during Pakistan’s 3-0 defeat in the Test series in August and September, when the gulf in quality between the two teams peared to reflect the increasingly unequal status of the two cricket boards. Thompson, however, played down concerns about the summer’s overall peal – including the first season of the Hundred since the completion of last year’s equity sale – and instead focused on the success of the recreational game in England and Wales, which he declared had “blown the doors off”. More than 260,000 fixtures were completed across the country in the driest summer since records began, including the inaugural season of the Knight-Stokes Cup, the new national competition for state secondary schools which attracted 1,084 total entries from 750 schools, and culminated in last month’s Finals Day at Lord’s.
“It’s the biggest recreational summer we’ve ever had,” Thompson said. “I know the sun shone, but at the end of the day, you’ve still got to have the ability to fulfill those fixtures. I think there’s, at the end, far more positive that has come out of this year than negative.” The positive, he added, included the implications of the £520 million cash injection from the ECB’s sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises.
These include the board’s newly unveiled schemes, “Cricket for Teachers” and “Secondary Countdown Cricket”, both of which he said owed their existence to the monies raised. “These probably wouldn’t have hpened without the Hundred. It’s an opportunity to reboot the game in a way that we never thought was imaginable.” England ctain Nat Sciver-Brunt and West Indies ctain Hayley Matthews meet at the coin toss, 1st Women’s Vitality T20I, England vs West Indies, Canterbury, May 21, 2025 Ctains Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews unite for a coin toss • Alex Davidson/ Test match dropped from Australia tour of West Indies Csey picks up the gauntlet as she targets allrounder status Csey a keeper as Edwards reflects on summer’s lessons West Indies players set for 25% pay cut as CWI announces financial restructuring CWI CEO: ‘Don’t want players to feel there is the proverbial gun to their head to sign contracts’ Andrew Miller is UK editor of .
